April 2, 2012

News that Transworld was essentially remaking their fourth video, Cinematographer, got me fairly geeked for a few good reasons. The multiple filmer/editor format means for all sorts of different stuff in one package and there's always some comfort in anything skateboarding that throws back to the 90's, which I say both sarcastically and whole-heartedly. The Cinematographer Project went available for download Friday morning, and well, I'm still fairly geeked, as are people like Rob Brink (as evidenced by his Twitter feed). Halfway through my first viewing I was starting to feel confident that it was going to be, possibly, the best video of the year. I've dialed that back since that mid-point, but that's not to say that the video isn't really good and almost more interesting, just because of the type of project it is.

The Cinematographer Project is, on purpose or not, a case study in skateboard video making. Even more so than the original, different approaches and cameras and effects are obvious and when you put them all together, the video makes for a nice barometer of what one is looking for in a skateboard video, reinforcing certain biases. Dan Wolfe made a bit of a comeback after the unevenness of Since Day One [though Busenitz can probably do that for anyone (Evan Smith too!), the section raises even more questions about that SOTY snub]. Mike Manzoori is still one of the best in the biz (though I'd have also accepted some Come Together-iness, Jon Miner and Hi-8), and Bill Strobeck can put out a what is essentially one of his Youtube gems with better skating and we'll like it all the same. On the other hand, take away big name dudes from one guy's section and it becomes pretty forgettable, while overdone effects and questionable music choices can torpedo others. Cinematographer 2, then, is a grabbag of a lot of what's happening in skateboarding nowadays. More of the video works than that which does not, and that's a strong enough selling point on a project such as this. Bullet points follow:

-Chewy Cannon and Busenitz should share a part skating the same spots.

-Gonz rollerskates and I'll watch over and over.

-Brennan Conroy? Brennan Conroy films a lot of good dudes.

-In the sequel to a video from the 90's, RB Umali put out the most 90's-est part.

-Jerboi Tom Rohrer has graduated to a TWS vid.

-Those Australian dudes rip and straight forwardness prevails, again.

-The Alien Workshop section has some mind-numbingly great skating while sort of plodding along at the same time. Jake Johnson and Gilbert Crockett have enders and crush it. The question is, when does a certain type of editing and production surpass stylistics, stop evolving and cross into parody? It hasn't yet, but it's worth asking.

-Busenitz should have been SOTY. Buy the video, it's one for the collection/harddrive.